CapU brand story honoured again by CASE

Program guide, digital viewbook and brand receive silver awards at district conference

Christine Beyleveldt // News Editor

Photo c/o Marketing and Communications, Capilano University

After previously winning four major awards for the brand story unveiled in 2016, Capilano University was again honoured on Feb. 8 by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), a non-profit that serves professionals in education advancement. At a District VIII Conference in Seattle, CapU was presented with three silver awards for its brand, digital viewbook and program guide.

The brand story received a prestigious Coup de Coeur Award from the Canadian Association of Communicators in Education (CACE) in October 2017 and two awards from the University and College Designers Association in August. The brand was judged by CASE on the basis of its creativity and effectiveness as well as excellence in image development.

“I think we knew we were on to something resonant and unique when we launched the brand because the immediate reaction was so overwhelmingly positive from the community,” said Victoria Miles, director of communications and marketing. In the year since launching the brand and concluding the marketing campaign that saw the brand appear all over the Lower Mainland, she noted that the awards and recognition CapU has received confirm its appeal with all audiences. “The awards and recognition are also very humbling, because our brand is a lot to live up to. Respecting the significance of our symbolism is a responsibility we all share and, in the same way, we all share the recognition that has come with it,” she said.

The brand wasn’t the only notable thing to receive honours from CASE. CapU’s digital viewbook and program guide also received individual silver awards for their quality, functionality and aesthetic.

However, the school considered a statement made by Ken Steele, co-founder of research and consulting firm for higher education Academica Group, a powerful indicator of their work. “Perhaps Capilano University’s new brand can serve as an inspirational metaphor for the potential for reconciliation in Canada,” he remarked.

Miles responded that when CapU began the rebranding process they wanted to reflect what mattered to the campus community. “The theme of reconciliation emerged from listening to what people care about, who we are, what we stand for and what we can be,” she said. “So the symbol came from a place of shared values and aspirations. And we know that reconciliation is a long journey, a process that will take many generations.”